Absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers, training pants, and adult incontinence undergarments, absorb and contain body exudates. They also are intended to prevent body exudates from soiling, wetting, or otherwise contaminating clothing or other articles, such as bedding, that come in contact with the wearer.
Disposable absorbent articles are often purchased and used in a relatively large volume. Disposable diapers, for example, may be packaged in packages containing multiple diapers, often about 20 to about 40 diapers or more in a single package. Although absorbent articles, such as diapers, may be somewhat bulky, they have been made thinner largely due to use of absorbent polymer materials (also known as superabsorbent polymers). Absorbent polymer material allows disposable absorbent articles to be made relatively thin and flexible, but they may still occupy a relatively large volume of space during shipping, storage, and/or retail shelf display.
The space occupied by disposable absorbent articles affects the ability to transport, store, and/or display absorbent articles efficiently and conveniently. The greater the space occupied by absorbent articles, the higher the cost of providing such products to the end consumer. The space occupied by absorbent articles may also be an inconvenience for the end user as well, particularly if transportation or storage space available for the absorbent articles is relatively small.
The shape of absorbent articles, such as diapers, also affects the ability to transport, store, and/or display absorbent articles cost efficiently and conveniently. The shape of absorbent article packaging may be limited by the shape of the absorbent article. Absorbent articles, such as diapers, typically are longer than wide and therefore the packaging for such articles tends to follow the same shape. Disposable diapers for example, may be folded, such as in a bi-fold configuration and stacked for packaging in a packaging material such as a bag, pouch, box, or the like. Even when folded, diapers tend to be longer than wide. Some diapers are too thick for multiple folds or are damaged by multiple folding of the diaper. Thus, the packaging configurations available for absorbent articles are limited and available transportation, storage, and/or retail display space may not be configured well for efficient and convenient transportation, storage, and/or display of packaged absorbent articles.
Thus, there remains a need for absorbent articles, such as diapers, that may be packaged in configurations that may be more efficient or convenient for transportation, storage, and/or display.